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While the city’s top transportation post remains vacant, the department’s respected former commissioner has landed a leadership post at the award-winning Chicago architecture firm Studio Gang.
Gia Biagi will join Studio Gang as Principal of Urbanism, the firm announced Thursday.
Biagi told the Sun-Times that under the newly-created role, she’ll lead Studio Gang’s planning and urban design work nationally.
— Chicago Sun-Times
Biagi told the Sun-Times architecture critic, Lee Bey, her work will help Studio Gang’s efforts to shape “how we think about cities, how we revitalize them, and how that connects to other important systems, whether that’s emphasizing ecology or looking at the important public... View full entry
Europe’s first certified full-scale Hyperloop test track is now ready for test operations, marking a significant milestone in sustainable and ultra-fast transportation. The 24-metre-long track was developed by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) Hyperloop research group. The first successful test run with a passenger pod in vacuum conditions took place on the 10th of July 2023. — Innovative Origins
The research and development program TUM Hyperloop at the Technical University of Munich reached a milestone when it successfully conducted the first passenger ride under vacuum conditions on July 10, 2023. As reported by Innovation Origins, the group will now focus on refining their track’s... View full entry
A joint venture of Foster + Partners and Arup will design the first four California High-Speed Rail stations in the state’s Central Valley region, the firms announced this week. The plans they are developing for the transit organization will eventually deliver stations in Fresno... View full entry
The price tag for the rail system has risen to $128 billion, according to a California High Speed Rail Authority project update report — a nearly 22% uptick from the previous figure of $105 billion from last year and a far cry from the $33 billion cost voters approved in 2008. The latest increases are due to “inflation/escalation, enhanced scope definition and greater contingency for risk,” per the report. — Construction Dive
The cost imbalance has reportedly pushed back the Merced-to-Bakersefield segment’s targeted start of service from 2030 by up to three years, according to the CEO of the Rail Authority Brian P. Kelly. Plans now are for at least the 119-mile segment that’s currently under construction in the... View full entry
A consortium of seven international hyperloop companies has formed a new entity called the Hyperloop Association, the group recently announced. The organization was begun in December and expects a royal decree to follow shortly announcing it as a legal entity. The Association says it will be based... View full entry
MAD Architects has been named the winner of an international competition for the design of the Changchun “Longjia” International Airport Terminal 3 in Jilin Province, China. The 2.9 million square foot terminal will contain 54 aircraft gates and is expected to accommodate 22 million annual... View full entry
Researchers from the MIT Senseable City Lab have produced a series of maps visualizing commuting habits across Chinese cities. Titled Potato Project, the study used mobile phone location data from 50 million individuals across 234 cities to understand commuting patterns between a person’s home... View full entry
Another milestone has been reached in the ongoing Automated People Mover (APM) project at Los Angeles International Airport after the last structural steel elements near the historic Theme Building have been installed. The 180-ton final piece serves as a base for the new viewing pavilion and... View full entry
A long-awaited high-speed rail project connecting Las Vegas to Southern California is reportedly ready to proceed in 2023 as an $8 billion proposal from rail operator Brightline is nearing permitting permission from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). According to the International Railway... View full entry
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued approval to the proposed O’Hare 21 Expansion plan following the results of an environmental review that was announced by the agency on Tuesday. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg was on hand in the Windy City to join... View full entry
Dozens of electric yellow school buses are scheduled to roll on city streets as early as next fall, officials announced Tuesday. The city is using an $18.5 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency with funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill to purchase 51 electric school buses. It’s part of an effort to meet the city’s and the state’s shared goal of converting all New York’s school buses to run on electricity by 2035. — Gothamist
In April, New York Governor Kathy Hochul agreed on a $220 billion state budget with legislators, which included a plan to make New York State’s nearly 50,000 school buses 100% electric by 2035. It’s estimated that the state currently has just 36 electric school buses. New York City currently... View full entry
Arup has been selected for a multibillion-dollar expansion project for Newark Liberty International Airport following an announcement from the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey on Monday. SOM will also provide its expertise on the project. The two will oversee the development of the... View full entry
The company has been mapping Los Angeles using human drivers since 2019. Next, a spokesman said, trained drivers will test out Waymo’s robot taxi service on L.A.-area highways and neighborhood thoroughfares, with runs downtown, along the Miracle Mile and in Koreatown, Santa Monica and West Hollywood. — LA Times
Waymo has already eked out footholds in Phoenix and San Francisco and will need a permit from the California Public Utilities Commission to expand its West Coast operations into what it says is a now $2 billion market. The Public Utilities hurdle and technically complicated mapping process aside... View full entry
The New York City Department of Transportation has selected Swedish construction concern Skanska to lead a $150 million rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Williamsburg Bridge, the city and firm announced last week. According to Skanska, the project will include “structural steel... View full entry
The Urban Institute has warned that the proliferation of autonomous vehicles in the United States needs to be met by regulations at the federal, state, and local level to ensure equity and environmental sustainability. The non-profit group, which describes its role as inspiring “effective... View full entry